Sometimes it can be the smallest of things…

I suppose I have to laugh. It is pretty funny, actually, how the strangest, most unexpected things can bring you to a halt, or at least pretty damned close.

Editor Dave and I have been working practically non-stop at wrapping up the edits on No Wake Zone, and we’re closing in on the finish, so Hooray! But Sunday afternoon I had to step away from the computer for a brief time to run some errands, one of which put me out on Route 80, cruising along in the fast lane, when all at once my dashboard lit up like it was Christmas. Specifically, the ‘Check Engine’ light, along with the glow plug indicator, which was blinking away insistently.

WTF??? Everything felt okay. Fortunately my exit was coming up, so I slowed and looped onto the Parkway, rolled through the EZpass lane, then downshifted to pull into the next exit, right after the tolls…. and…. meh. Worse than meh. We’re talking about my little turbocharged diesel Jetta with a sport-tuned suspension, which normally drives like a rocket, but the most it could do was putter along feebly with the anemic performance you’d expect from something that gets 45+ mpg, while traffic whizzed past. To say I was distressed would be a bit of an understatement.

Long story short, it was still under warranty, so straight back to the dealer it went, and was returned to me hours later in its proper, feisty, tire-smoking order. And the cause for this brief lapse into anemic performance? MICE! Apparently, still displeased about being evicted from my basement last summer, they decided the cozy warmth of the little diesel in the driveway would serve as housing, and while they were nestled in and keeping warm, one industrious rodent decided the wiring to my turbo seemed like a tasty snack.

Mice. Really. Now I have to figure out how to keep mice out from under the hood! Any ideas, anyone?

Okay, it’s back to work for me. In the coming weeks there will be a number of updates – things are starting to happen in a big way. But before I go, here’s a link to last Thursday’s Write On The Water post:The K.I.S.S. approach to Cruising…

5 responses to “Sometimes it can be the smallest of things…”

Get a cat. We have had mice, a few rats and chipmunks in the yard and under the house. We have one cat who does a great job of keeping them under control. My daschund also helps with the rat and mouse problem.

I’ve considered shipping one of my indoor kitties outside, but I suspect if it wasn’t in a bowl they wouldn’t have a clue what to do with it. Alright, that’s not fair, one of them lived feral on the streets, but my daughter would never forgive me if I sent her precious pet to the great outdoors. They don’t have access to the basement, either, which is why the mice set up shop down there to begin with. Between the foxes and coyotes we have around here, I’m surprised the mice dare venture out, but apparently, as the folks at VW will attest (and they still serviced it no-charge under warranty! 🙂 ) mice seem to like it under the hood.

A recent story on NPR’s Car Talk tops that. Seems someone left a large bag of Hershey Kisses on the passenger seat of his car in the garage on Christmas Eve. The next morning, they were all gone. Turns out the resident rodents took them one-at-a-time and stashed them in the car’s heating system. This was discovered when they melted and the car is now permeated with chocolate scent.

Got to love Car Talk! A chocolate-scented car isn’t the worst thing I can think of. Many years ago, a group of us went fishing, and unbeknownst to the driver, one of his bait cans in the back-seat had tipped over, leading to the great crawfish escape. Best we could guess, they crawled up inside the seats of that old Torino, The next day, unaware of this, he returned to the naval base where he served on a sub, and the car sat locked up and parked — until August. Yeah, I’ll take chocolate over THAT any day!

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Hazel Moran, the tough truck-driving amateur sleuth introduced in Last Exit in New Jersey, returns in this dark and twisting sequel.